"I'm not angry," she told PEOPLE. "I had a great opportunity. I mean, three years! Three years I'm on television. ... The show is on all over the world and we're still going to be on for a long time. It's like the Baywatch of Housewives. For me, it's just the gift that keeps on giving."

Speaking at a QVC charity event in New York City to benefit breast cancer research, Bensimon called her stint on Real Housewives a "huge leap of faith" and said she looks forward to watching upcoming seasons of the Bravo hit.

"Ramona Singer, Sonja Morgan and LuAnn DeLesseps will be returning for season 5 of The Real Housewives of New York City," a network spokesperson tells PEOPLE. "We've had a fabulous run with all the ladies and appreciate them sharing their lives with our viewers. It is a friendly departure among the other ladies and we continue to have on-going discussions with them."

Bravo is remaining mum on the reports that three of the Real Housewives of New York City are set to be fired, but a source tells PEOPLE that only Ramona Singer, LuAnn de Lesseps and Sonja Morgan are close to signing their 5th season contracts.

McCord, who was involved in a public dust-up with costar Sonja Morgan at a Marriage Equality event last season, addressed rumors of her departure on her Facebook and Twitter pages, saying "Nothing's finalized, though I'd like to do another year."

"That made me cry," Ramona Singer told PEOPLE before heading off to spend the Labor Day weekend aboard a 150-ft. yacht in Newport, R.I., and Nantucket, Mass. "[Taylor is] lovely and it's hitting her hard. The night before the memorial service, I had dinner with [Taylor's costars] Lisa Vanderpump and Kyle Richards and we talked about it. And they've been so supportive."

After Bensimon, 43, had her now-infamous meltdown during a cast trip to St. John's, "people called me crazy," she admits in the September issue of Shape magazine."But what they saw was me reacting – in an honest way – to a situation that wasn't honest. Then everyone ganged up on me. So, of course I looked crazy!"

Bensimon was so distraught by the backlash from her erratic behavior on the show that she almost didn't return for the fourth season. It was her daughters, Sea, 13, and Teddy, 11, who convinced her to let the public know who she really is.

1. Sonja's Meltdown: When host Andy Cohen asked Sonja Morgan about her tough year, which included filing for bankruptcy, she broke down in tears. "The $7 million, that wasn't what really killed me," she said of money she was ordered to pay in a lawsuit against her. "What was very upsetting to me was that my marriage fell apart ... I didn't care about the trial. I didn't care about the money. I was focused on the past, my husband and what we had together."

2. Jill Insults Alex: When Andy asked Jill Zarin about criticizing Alex McCord and Ramona Singer for wearing white to a wedding, Alex fired back, saying, "It's a lot ruder to call someone a 'f–– bitch' at the wedding than it is to wear cream."

Put seven Housewives in a room, ask a heated question about etiquette and you'll get 37 different opinions – plus raised voices, pointed fingers and general exasperation.

With The Real Housewives of New York City wrapping up a lively season this Thursday, the ladies – Jill, Kelly, Alex, Sonja, Ramona, LuAnn and Cindy – reunited to rehash all their personal drama in a two-part reunion special, and PEOPLE.com has an exclusive first look at the action.

With blondes and brunettes separated on different couches, the ladies begin to address Cindy's possible etiquette breach – taking a business phone call during a breakfast at Sonja's home. As Cindy explains herself – even rising from the couch for extra emphasis – Kelly defends her castmate, telling Sonja, "She's a working woman with two kids. ... If I came to your house and I had a call, I would take it. Sorry."

"Gold, diamonds, caviar," de Lesseps, 46, sings in the music video for "Chic C'est La Vie," while she's joined by fellow Housewives Jill Zarin and Kelly Bensimon." "Life is but a dream when every day you're living in is featured on TV."